Reactions from the Breitbart world to last night’s GOP debate in Florida:
Mike Flynn: Last night, two men debated over the presidency while 7 others debated over cabinet positions. The people jockeying for the cabinet won. The best answers of the night came from Cain, Gingrich and, shock, Huntsman. But then, it is easy to out-perform when you face zero expectations or pressure.
I’m hungover from the debates. No, not in the obvious, literal sense. More that my euphoria over Obama’s plummeting poll numbers is giving way to a nagging sense that none of these candidates is up to the task at hand. Romney gives the most polished, “general election” performance, but I can’t trust him. He’s a handsome Bob Dole, who would equivocate or hedge on every challenge we face. Rick Perry seems to understand these challenges, but appears not quite equipped to deal with them. His heart is in the right place but, so far, it isn’t quite enough. He has, perhaps, one more shot to get it right or…we are going into November with the handsome Bob Dole.
John Nolte, EIC Big Hollywood: The race for the GOP nomination has essentially become a two-person race: Perry vs, Romney –and while Perry is probably closer to the hearts of the base when it comes to issues, his increasingly worse showings in these debates (he had a number of memorably bad moments tonight) will likely add to his weakening poll numbers. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Romney regained the national lead before they meet again.
How many debates does Perry have left before he’s mortally wounded? One? Three?
Regardless, Perry’s floundering has left a huge gap in the GOP field — and that gap is shaped exactly like a fearless two-fisted scrapper who’s right on all the issues and hails from Wasilla, Alaska.
P.S. I love Herman Cain. What a man. What a story. And the sound of his voice when he speaks of his love for this country makes me glad to be alive.
Larry O’Connor, EIC Breitbart TV: On a pure sound byte basis over at Breitbart.tv, I was isolating Herman Cain’s moments more than any other candidate. It is natural for the networks to want the Romney/Perry confrontations to continue, but it is starting to feel a little too “made for television” at this point. I wrote Newt Gingrich off electorally a while back, but seeing him in these debates reminds me of how vital his intellect and communication skills are–we are lucky to have him. Bachmann was incredibly lackluster and came across as weary. Santorum seemed desperate for attention and did not handle the DADT question effectively (however, I think, in fairness, every candidate should have been forced to answer that question). Finally: Can Johnson and Paul please just go away? They are doing a great job for the Libertarian Party nomination but any candidate who proposes cutting our military spending by 43% is NOT a Republican.
Joel Pollak, EIC Breitbart.com: I thought Herman Cain was the most impressive tonight. He kept it positive and policy-oriented. He is genuinely liked by everyone, including his opponents. Johnson had a good evening as well, even though he stole Rush Limbaugh’s joke. Romney and Perry–particularly Romney–missed an opportunity to transcend the tit-for-tat that everyone has come to expect. Perry almost seemed to make Romney’s argument on health care at one point, and Romney could have turned that into a statesmanlike moment, but sank back into a defensive posture. (Note for the future, for Romney and everyone: do not debate with your hands in your pockets. It conveys smugness that people are tired of seeing in politicians.) Perry’s answer on the vice-presidential question was an epic win. Santorum gave the worst answer of the night on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell–not because of his view of the policy, but because he failed to thank that soldier for his service. Finally, I thought FOX News did very well tonight. Breaking news: Santorum wants to change his vice-presidential pick now that he’s learned Gingrich is going to be mated with Cain.
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